Creating Crafts from Everyday Items

Little Mermaid Dinglehopper Bow

To celebrate going to see Disney on Ice today, here is a quick tutorial for all you princess fans out there. Learn how to make use of some of those dinglehoppers you have lying around and turn them into this Little Mermaid-themed bow. You never know when a good dinglehopper could come in handy for hair brushing throughout the day.

Supplies:

Red and green fabric (I used old T-shirts)

Scissors

Hot glue gun and glue

Fabric marker/permanent marker

Dinglehopper (plastic fork) and paint

Twist tie

Optional: Bottle cap, paint, paintbrush

1. Cut two strips of fabric, one of each color. Use twice the length you want your bow to be and about twice the width for each section.

2. Fold the edges in lengthwise and glue in place so you have one flat layer over the other.

3. Do the same with the other strip. Make sure they are still roughly the same length and width.

4. Now, fold the ends into the middle and glue in place to make a rough bow shape. Do this on both pieces.

5. If you wish, you can use the marker to draw scales on the green half of your bow.

6. Position the pieces so the red is above the green, forming a double-bow. Then secure together with twist tie.

7. Time for the dinglehopper. If you happen to make a silver plastic fork, great. Just glue it on. If not, you can paint a white plastic fork silver/gray for the same effect. I glued the fork to the middle of the bow, then secured it further by gluing the handle onto the green part where it overhangs. Do the same with the top of the fork where is overhangs the red.

8. Take a scrap strip of fabric and fold the edges lengthwise (just like you did with the bow part), then glue together. Wrap the fabric around the center of the bow and glue to create the middle of the bow. Color is up to you. If you decide to add a bottle cap centerpiece, the middle won’t really show so don’t stress about it too much.

9. If you are satisfied, you can keep your bow as is. Otherwise, you can add a bottle cap shell or other nautical-themed decorations for added mermaid power.

10. To do this, paint the design on the bottle cap. For tips on how to do this, click here.

11. Give ample time for your bottle cap to dry. Then glue some scrap fabric inside of it so that it is flush with the bottom edges of the bottle cap.